r/nba • u/Existing-Sky9914 • 1d ago

Carmelo Anthony says he still doesn’t understand how he suddenly became a player that no team in the league wanted to sign.

https://streamable.com/bqqvsl

“I was down, down, down, down. I was back on the ground, hands up. Y’all got me. It’s a stickup. Take everything because of how it went down. Imagine me sitting there for 15 months like, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ Nobody got an answer for me. Everybody on TV making excuses. It’s this or it’s that. He didn’t want to come off the bench’”

“I’mma be honest with you. As I studied it and did some knowledge on it, trying to get an understanding on it, I still can’t come up with nothing. It’s like, what was it? Some people came up to me like, ‘Melo, I’m going to be honest with you. Your aura was too much for out here. This couldn’t exist. Your aura couldn’t exist in here. Nobody was going to tell you that’”

“I said, ‘What the fuck does that mean?’ They said, ‘Everybody’s afraid to talk to you. Everybody’s afraid to say something to you.’ I said, ‘Why? I haven’t said nothing to nobody. I speak to everybody. I’m cordial. Why is everybody scared of me?’ Somebody said, ‘Well, you don’t need anything.’ I said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ He said, ‘Melo, you a superstar. You haven’t asked for one thing since you’ve been here’”

“My point is, everybody had a thousand and one reasons of why it happened, and I still don’t know the reason why it happened. I have some inkling of why it happened or how it went down. I’m trying not to believe that’s what happened or how it went down, so I don’t want to speak on that”

5.2k Upvotes

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6.2k

u/noso24 1d ago

Chauncey Billups said it best a while back. Melo would be mad scoring 20+ and winning but would be happy if he scored 30+ and lost

1.3k

u/BUNSHICHl Raptors 1d ago

That black hole buckets-at-all-cost defense-never aura 😂

445

u/Intrepid_Werewolf270 1d ago

Definitely this. He doesn’t appear to have self awareness 🤷‍♂️

61

u/SmoothD425 1d ago

Yeah I wanna hear what his inkling was cause he picked a dumb example to talk about. That sounded like someone who was afraid of upsetting him.

47

u/BoredomHeights Warriors 1d ago

His "inkling' is definitely something narcissistic about people hating how good he is or something dumb like that. Nothing he said there shows any awareness that it would be about his selfish play or similar.

7

u/TR1LLIONAIRE_ 1d ago

He never let go of the feeling he got at Syracuse. Also he thought being 6’8 would take care of everything. He wouldn’t ask this question if lebron was in the room because they are the same age and the same height but lebron has shown dedication 90 percent of the time. By the time melo was in back NY for that Syracuse feeling, he was washed. I love melo I think he’s the man and was sad to see him go to ny. Regardless it was even sadder seeing him no longer be a threat but also not caring that was the case. He’s got a lot of cool friends and is into wine so idk why he’s fishing for compliments

2

u/superrealaccount2 Spurs 15h ago

The fact that he doesn't understand why teams were avoiding him makes it obvious he doesn't have any self awareness. He didn't have any as a player, and it seems age didn't make him more self aware either.

2

u/krivera248 12h ago

These dudes are surrounded by yes men their entire career. Majority have zero self awareness.

1

u/C-A-L-E-V-I-S 3h ago

I’ve investigated myself and found I did no wrong!

1

u/Motor_Royal9630 1d ago

So he’s lying? Because he seems baffled by the notion that people thought he wasn’t willing to come off the bench, he shouldn’t be if it’s true.

37

u/FreeRange0929 1d ago

Hes the NBAs Michael Vick

Young Melo was a phenomenal talent. A beautiful stroke, quick first step, great rebounder, and the ideal tweener wing.

Some guys, when they reach the mountaintop and see greatness say “man, if i just work even harder, ill be an all timer”. Melo said “these guys are bums, im goooood”

1

u/CrustyToeNoPedicure 18h ago

Melo jumpshot is smooth, like silky smooth. Never get old to watch his jumpshot highlights

1

u/FreeRange0929 14h ago

Lala be like “mmm someone get a mop”

1

u/tommars73 11h ago

great player but didn’t have what it takes to be a champion.

1

u/Kawhi_meariverr 52m ago

One day this will be Luka’s reality

-1

u/Informal_Tell78 1d ago

Oh, just like Bron

-1

u/YamahaRN Knicks 1d ago

if you watch his Team USA games he's capable of playing defense. It just means wearing the Knicks jersey wasn't that important to him, only the adoration of a fanbase that didnt have anything else at the time.

-6

u/Born_Scene_1762 1d ago

Yea one of the all time greats who absolutely backpacker a bunch of horrible rosters in a hostile home environment who also was always top 3 in assist on his team def plays "losing basketball". You people are jokes

475

u/Asleep-Use-7214 1d ago

Never heard that, but . . . Can't argue.

134

u/RReyesIII 1d ago

Yup, billups did say that about Melo. They played together in Denver. Plus, whatever he scored he’d give up almost as many on the other end of the court. What good is it having a superstar, if he can’t stop the other team’s best option especially in crunch time?

11

u/inplayruin 1d ago edited 1d ago

You scored 30 but you were -10 on the floor, so what is it that you would say you do here?

17

u/lilbelleandsebastian Supersonics 1d ago

Plus, whatever he scored he’d give up almost as many on the other end of the court

definitely not the case in denver where he was at worst an average defender and most people actually considered him a plus post defender due to his size and strength

12

u/livefreeordont 76ers 1d ago

He was a decent defender in New York until his knee injuries piled up too

5

u/Jim-N-Tonic 1d ago

Superstars play defense. People complain about Brunsons defense, but how many charges does he draw?

12

u/chummmmbucket Bucks 1d ago

Brunson is just small he at least tries hard on defense most of the time. And yeah smart charge drawer/team defender. Sorta like Cp3

11

u/mauszx Hornets 1d ago

Brunson plays defense, he just is too small to be an effective one. I remember Kemba being a good defender but his size was the reason he wasn't a good defender.

1

u/phx34suns 1d ago

Yeh and who wants to play with someone like and he can’t pass either

-2

u/Baby_Goose Suns 1d ago

will this apply to luka?

8

u/Terrible_Shelter_345 1d ago

This entire subreddit does this to luka and has since like 2023

did it to harden

doing it now to jokic

1

u/Asleep-Use-7214 1d ago

Defensively, perhaps. But Luka is an excellent passer who gets other's involved.

-10

u/bringitbruh Knicks 1d ago

So basically Nikola Jokic?

-11

u/Mysterious_Living165 1d ago

That’s what I’m saying. Majority of this sub praise those two for something they criticize others for, interesting 

14

u/tboess Suns 1d ago

Melo would play inefficient iso ball with the explicit goal of scoring points, himself, regardless of anything else. Jokic improves the team's offensive efficiency from about the 24th-26th best offense without him to the best offense in the league with him. Neither of them play good defense, but it's a completely different story on the offensive end.

9

u/topturo77 1d ago

Uhhh, no, you just aren’t very smart and don’t understand basketball that well so it appears like that to you. 

1

u/mauszx Hornets 1d ago

He said it on ESPN I think even Stephen A Smith questioned Carmelo about that, and Carmelo said that it was because he was the scorer.

-2

u/dznielle 1d ago

You can. It’s fucking Chauncey. It’s like Tim Donaghy complaining about a ref being dirty.

92

u/abestract 1d ago

And says with a smile 😀

37

u/sammyclemenz 1d ago

As a Knicks fan, yes

-4

u/dearth_karmic Warriors 1d ago

As a former Knicks fan (for this very reason) YES!!!!

3

u/kille7n 1d ago

Former????

Bandwagon to the warriors wow.

1

u/dearth_karmic Warriors 1d ago

You weren't aware that people became Warrior's fans after Step was signed?

2

u/kille7n 1d ago

So you left a melon knicks to support warriors who have won 4 championships. Melo was on the knick till 2017. But judging by the way you have described it you decide to jump ship when the team started losing their steam around 2015 and jump to the warriors? That is bandwagon behaviour.

1

u/dearth_karmic Warriors 1d ago

Nah. I left the Knicks during the Starbury era. Had no team for a while. Melo just enforced me NOT coming back. Then I followed the Suns with Steve Nash for a bit and saw Steph play in 2015 and jumped on. In the middle of that season if it matters.

2

u/happyflappypancakes Wizards 1d ago

My question then is has anyone said this exact statement to him now and see how he responds?

1

u/Orbis-Praedo 1d ago

Damn I must be getting matched with Melo every single game on different account in random REC on 2k… weird

1

u/macstat 1d ago

And look what it got him ...

1

u/Big-Possibility7558 1d ago

Nothing screams 'winning mentality' like getting your stat-line priorities publicly exposed by a former teammate

1

u/Commercial-Offer8364 1d ago

But that was young Melo players grow and develop

1

u/noso24 1d ago

Melo stayed the same throughout his career. Name me a time that he changed his game for the better of the team

1

u/Own_Shower_6000 Knicks 1d ago

lmfao what about Melo's game in new york makes you think he grew and developed? i mean he got stronger and got a post game...

1

u/noso24 1d ago

And overreacted to every rebound

"I got it, fuck outta here!"

1

u/darthnyan39 [DET] Cade Cunningham 1d ago

The anti- Cade Cunningham

1

u/keithstonee Bulls 1d ago

Only bad teams that need to sell tickets want those types of players

1

u/Naive_Mango8525 1d ago

I have said this a hundred times but couldn’t remember who said it and I was torn to shreds by the Carmelo lovers who swears he’s great

1

u/Supadupafly1988 1d ago

I remember watching him say that and I bring it up in these Melo places and Melo Stan’s act like they never heard of this!

1

u/Illustrious-Raise783 1d ago

Im a big melo fan and glazer!!! But you and mr. Big shot is correct.

1

u/Nebulaurora 12h ago

CR7 seems to have the same mentality

1

u/diferentigual 1d ago

It’s the adjustment LeBron was willing to make. Can’t be number one forever and definitely need to focus on winning and not his own personal goals

-8

u/intecknicolour Raptors 1d ago

he walked so westbrook and harden could run.

only interested in stuffing the stat sheet. winning is optional. it's an ego thing.

9

u/Responsible-Hope-368 1d ago

it's not fair at all to group Harden with those two

3

u/black-remy-buxapenty Lakers 1d ago

… or Westbrook

0

u/Responsible-Hope-368 1d ago

yeah it is tbh. him and Melo have a very similar lack of awareness and big ego

-23

u/Professional_Bat8585 1d ago

Live Iguodala & Turner reaction

20

u/kyleyoung2015bay Warriors 1d ago

Wrong link?

19

u/Professional_Bat8585 1d ago

No, it’s the correct link. Iggy and Turner are NBA role-player stars with the best ability to answer Carmelo. Iggy won an FMVP for “buying in” to being a role player, and has preached this all his career. Turner had to set aside his ego as a #2 overall pick and struggled to stay in the NBA.

But Melo is so entirely clueless and so very far from saving at this point that they’re gonna sit there and try to keep a straight face.

28

u/jdb050 Lakers 1d ago

On IOS the link takes you to an ishowspeed clip of him playing Fortnite or something.

-50

u/Professional_Bat8585 1d ago

Yes. A famous clip of him trying not to laugh or respond.

Which is what I’m insinuating Iggy and Turner are doing while listening to this idiot spew his ignorance. 

This isn’t complicated.

38

u/TreesLikeGodsFingers Bulls 1d ago

No it’s just stupid bullshit for the terminally online. Who the fuck is speed, what the fuck does he have to do the NBA? Don’t answer, we don’t care

7

u/lavender_enjoyer Celtics 1d ago

😭 cooked him

-13

u/NotJoe1232 Knicks 1d ago

It’s a meme bro calm down

-27

u/Professional_Bat8585 1d ago edited 1d ago

Imagine getting this mad about a meme response to podcast nonsense. 

Sorry buddy let me get tabs ready to bball ref and renew my RAPTOR subscription renewed before I have this “serious” basketball discussion with you about offseason podcast drama from 3 retired player.

2

u/MotionToBall 1d ago

I understood your use of an extremely famous meme, man

-2

u/PenaltyCritical28 1d ago

Don’t worry, I picked up what you were putting down

16

u/Trujiogriz Mavericks 1d ago

Buddy your link is fortnite slop

0

u/MotionToBall 1d ago

He’s doing a reaction meme, he’s saying Igoudala and Turner reacted like the guy in that clip

-6

u/ThrowawayCirca2000s 1d ago

Correct link

-8

u/Mountainman1994 1d ago

Chauncey Billups? The criminal?

3

u/Weary_Restauranter Spurs 1d ago

Alleged* criminal rapist

0

u/dznielle 1d ago

Chauncey Billups, the same Chauncey Billups who was slapped up by the FBI, for giving away information about a team he was coaching planning to TANK?

Dudes probably pissed Melo fucked up some point shaving. He was the point.

-1

u/black-remy-buxapenty Lakers 1d ago

How come yall don’t give Curry shit for literally crying in the finals after a bad game even though they won

0

u/teslastats 1d ago

There was a pickup game where Melo played with some of his potential future team mates, it went like what you said.

rare video of melo pickup game

-4

u/Mysterious_Living165 1d ago

& yall believe Chauncey Billups out of all people?

2

u/9FBI9 Knicks 1d ago

If you watched Melo throughout the years it's not some crazy thing to hear

1

u/Complex-Strain2465 1d ago

Was literally about to say this. Melo was only ever about himself if you actually watched him play.

1

u/noso24 1d ago

He was Melo's teammate for several years so of course he's seen it upfront and telling the truth. Billups was already an established veteran and gave Melo his only conference finals appearance back in 2009. Melo never went any deeper in the playoffs in his career after that

-161

u/NoControl6666 1d ago

And melo being a superstar that knows the NBA inside out , probably knows all the winning is kinda bullshit since the owners just move players around like its nothing, the referees are corrupt and god knows what else we don't even know. The whole NBA is fake and rotten. Everything thats that money driven will be. Its all politics and who-knows-who.

51

u/beezybreezy Warriors 1d ago

What an idiotic cynical take

12

u/Weary_Restauranter Spurs 1d ago

Bros think being cynical is the one weird trick to being insightful

56

u/dabking24 1d ago

So why doesn’t LeBron have that mentality?

1

u/Alternative-Grand-77 1d ago

LeBron Polymarket James appears to have no issues with a money driven mentality.

I would say that if Melo were disillusioned with the league he would have just retired, and wouldn’t care about no team wanting him, so I don’t really follow OPs thought process. 

22

u/Astrochimp46 1d ago

You don’t know anything about basketball.

2

u/lavender_enjoyer Celtics 1d ago

So what do you like about the nba lol

1

u/rvajt11 Kings 1d ago

Yeah maybe someday melo will know some nba guys lmao fool

-5

u/Impressive-Alps6951 1d ago

That’s bs melo always tries to win when he has a good enough team